JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The hottest temperatures of the summer are blasting the mid-Atlantic with heat higher than anything we have seen so far this year in Jacksonville.
At 97 degrees, temperatures in our nation’s capital could surpass Jacksonville’s hottest day so far this summer.
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Across the northeast, days will top out 5 to 15 degrees above average surging well into the 90s for many areas, including New York City, Philadelphia, Connecticut and Washington.
Half of the heat is blamed on an upper ridge slowing down a cool front moving toward Virginia and the hot backside flowing around a ridge of clockwise swirling air called the North Atlantic subtropical high.
Otherwise known as the Bermuda High, this is the mechanism forcing the heat north, and beginning Thursday, it will bring the heat home into North Florida.
The Bermuda Ridge plays a significant role in the southeastern United States climate by way of its size and close proximity to the United States.
Our climate can heat up when its western edge creates sinking motions in the atmosphere and this all depends on its position north or south of the East Coast.
When it shifts farther north the result is hotter westerly flow locally.
Easterly winds are keeping the River City right on track with normal afternoons averaging near 91 degrees. Later in the week and into the weekend the ridge shifts northward sending our temps in the mid to upper 90s similar to the setup happening from New England to the mid-Atlantic.